Sleep, the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the ravel'd sleeve of care

One of my aunts still is up and about until about 4 am. When I lived overseas, she often used to write letters to me in the early hours. One time, she said she had just finished the ironing at 2am !
I can see no problem. If you were lying awake until 5am and then only getting a couple of hours sleep, it would be.
Perhaps you need to literally stay up and not go to bed until 5am and gradually bring that time back an hour at a time until you get to about midnight ?

Lady HD, your story could be mine! Isn’t it horrible tossing and turning until the early hours?! And then getting up mid morning - lunchtime once! The only reason I have to get up is to take my dog for a walk so he gives me some purpose! And now I’m anxiously waiting for my vaccination. Lots of my friends have heard but not me and I’m over 75. Think that would make a bit of a difference to being able to relax more to get to sleep. Anyway you have my total empathy. It’s a bit of a comfort to know you’re not alone eh?

There are some good helpful posts here; not sure if I have missed something - personally I wouldn't have cocoa at night, or hot chocolate as I, like you, would be buzzing and wide awake. Hot milk and honey is good for me, as is camomile tea, already suggested, or horlicks. Personally I try not to drink anything in the last three-quarter of an hour before bed, or I then have to wake up several times for a wee...

Meant to say Michael Sealey sleep/relaxation tapes on you tube work for me. Some go on all night but I find the 30 minute ones are right or me. Found one that helps with pain as well so that’s a bonus.

I only seem to need about six hours sleep in recent years. We’ve been staying up very late and sleeping in late then reading in bed where it’s warm and comfortable. I think the mattress is suffering though. Expensive good quality one but designed for lying flat for 8 hours.

We just need to do whatever it takes to get through these strange times. Once we can go out and about we can gradually readjust back to normality.

My sleep is all over the place at the moment. I’ll often be awake for 2-3 hours during the night, then wake at 6 - and feel like getting up - or sleep on till 8 or 9.

This morning I really surpassed myself - dh brought me a cup of tea at about 8 - I was more or less awake - next thing I knew, it was 2 minutes to 11!!!
And tea stone cold.
A record even for me!

Will try NEOM pillow mist. Will try anything

I have tried going to bed early with herbal tea as recommended last week, lighting lavender incense and having a bedtime drink like cocoa all to no avail. I just can’t get to sleep. I don’t drink alcohol just now and don’t feel I’m worrying about anything much. I just can’t get to sleep. By the time I get going the next day there’s very little daylight left. I get so annoyed with myself.

I have always been unable to sleep well,, lying awake for hours. Now I use NEOM Pillow Mist. I've tried other brands but none of them work. I usually read for a while, then one spray on each side of my pillow and away I go. I do wake up during the night to use the loo (waterworks), then back to sleep, no problem. Costs £20 for a small bottle, but it lasts for ages. I use 2 sprays as I turn from side to side when I first get into bed, but if you lie still when you settle down you only need to spray once. I've noticed that the first thing that happens when I have sprayed and put my head down is that I yawn. Might be worth giving it a try.

Omg I could be writing this. Honestly nothing works for me, hot drinks, baths, reading, listening to calm music nothing at all. I saw a video online where a sleep specialist explained what happens. I’m not able to use the same terminology that he used but basically when this happens something in our brains extends and stretches the hours in our days and shortens the night time hours, where it then becomes the norm to our body patterns and it then becomes a challenge to break this pattern. I walked 3 miles last night got home at 8oc still didn’t go to bed till 1oc still awake at 3.50 the knock on effect is I didn’t wake up until 10.30 feeling groggy. So I do believe what he explained is what’s happened to me as I’m now well into this pattern and finding it very difficult to break. I would never even consider going to bed before midnight because I’m never tired at that time even after working and a walk, my body and mind is just not tired. So I’m reading with interest but the run of the mill ideas just do not touch the sides with me.

I have had issues with sleep pattern previously, all connected with anxiety. Perhaps Covid isolation/ loneliness, and boredom may be affecting your brain patterns. I found some daily exercise, a daily routine for the day to include a regular breakfast time and bedtime, and not eating late at night. Make sure your bedroom is a TV, laptop, phone free zone. It's worth reading up on resetting body clock and sleep hygiene.

Sleep has always been a problem to me. My husband bought me a weighted blanket at Christmas and it has really helped me. Even if I wake up in the night I soon go back to sleep. Would not work if you were having hot flushes but it is like a security blanket

Some one the other day recommended Pukka night time tea. Have to say I bought some and it works for me ?

I go to bed just after midnight, hoping to sleep till at least 7am. so annoying when I wake and it's only 4 always try and go off again after a cup of tea and ten minutes on here!
I go for a brisk walk twice a day, I make myself and always feel better for it!
Living alone means you never use or hear your own voice. I have the radio on while busying about,...... find myself singing along, badly but who cares! and walk up and down the room in time to music which is fun! I find it lifts my spirits which i hope will help me sleep after midnight

I have the opposite problem in that I could sleep on a line. This year I decided to try to train my body clock to more normal hours. I go to bed at more or less the same time every night and get up at the same time every day. I have a light alarm clock which mimics dawn and tricks the brain into waking up. On the rare (very rare) occasion that I can't sleep I keep my eyes open. It's very difficult to do that in a dark room and makes you very tired very quickly. It may not work for everyone but it's worth a try.

One thing that worked for me was to reset my body clock by not going to bed at all for a day. When it got to 4am, when I would usually have gone to bed, I didn't, but drank coffee to keep awake and pushed through the tiredness by going out for a walk at 7am, kept busy all day, didn't give in to napping. By 9pm I was really tired. I stayed up till 10pm then slept, waking up at 6am. After a few days it became my new routine.

I can’t fall asleep unless I read in bed - after about half-hour eyelids drooping put book down. I know this doesn’t work for many.
Valerian also helped me when I was having serious sleep issues.

The other recent thread about sleep recommended Pukka Night Time herbal tea (blue packet). I was dubious but bought it, and it seems to work pretty well for me.

I have a Lumie Daylight lamp. I sit by it for half an hour early morning. I still wake up several times a night but a short read works then fall asleep again.

I tried the sleepstation site. I was recommended from the doctors. It was a waste of time. I can go to bed really tired, I can hardly keep my eyes open and as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm wide awake. I can lie there for hours before I nod off. Sometimes I get back up and sometimes I don't go to bed till about 4 am. I've tried alsorts nothing works. I'm just stick with it.

The only thing thst works for me and sleep experts recommend it, is to stay up all day after the sleepless night and don't sleep until 9 p.m. I know it's very hard, I have done it, but it is the only way to reset your sleep rhythm.

Haven't read all the posts but maybe you need to reset your body clock. Instead of sleeping till noon, set an alarm and get up at the same time every day, regardless of what time you went to sleep. Resist going back to bed and try not to nap during the day. Try to get exercise outdoors as well, especially if you feel sleepy. The broken sleep pattern happens to me occasionally but not every night. I think it's lockdown inactivity in my case but I have to get up in the morning for my dogs.

I find audio books set on timer send me to sleep

*meant, room next door! Sorry im tired?

Im the same, but cant reset it as even next night if im tired, if i go earlier, still cant sleep! Think it started as, if i let him,my 17yr old would be up all night, and i was up till i could get him off internet & make him go bed, but then he goes on phone (games/txts) and i can hear him shuffling about next room door (im extremely sensitive to noise) so i stay awake too- (he was put on melatonin yrs ago by consultant for a bit)- but the body gets used to it & it stops working, but you could try it under your drs supervision i suppose?But this is same sleep pattern even when i get up earlier to make sure he's up to study online 3days a wk for college! (He wont manage otherwise as i suspect he doesn't fall asleep till about 6/7 then up for 9am start) but even on days without that i get broken sleep all the time for toilet.Ive always been a night owl but used to be 1-2 am.Now, this is ridiculous times.(maybe this sleep 'problem' runs in our family,theres at least 3 others amongst my older/younger GC like this.)But its definitely got worse in lockdown yes.